Calgary lacrosse squad squeaks out win at home after walloping in Edmonton

Rita Mingo, Calgary Herald01.19.2014

The Calgary Roughnecks’ Jeff Shattler, left, celebrates a goal against the Vancouver Stealth during their NLL game at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary Saturday.
The Calgary Roughnecks’ Jeff Shattler, left, celebrates a goal against the Vancouver Stealth during their NLL game at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary Saturday.
/ Calgary Herald

The Vancouver Stealth’s Mike Grimes, right, and the Calgary Roughnecks’ Scott Ranger battle during their NLL game at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary Saturday.
/ Calgary Herald

The ability to rebound from a one-sided loss is the mark of any good team.

It wasn’t easy, but the Calgary Roughnecks proved worthy on Saturday night, besting the Vancouver Stealth 15-12 at the Scotiabank Saddledome. That result comes on the heels of a 15-8 walloping on Friday night at the hands of the Rush in Edmonton.

Both Calgary and Vancouver are now 2-2 in the National Lacrosse League’s West Division.

A game which, for a half, was a clinic on how to defend before turning into last-shot wins and, happily for the boisterous 8,957 in attendance, it was the Roughnecks more often than not that lit the lamp in the fourth quarter.

Dane Dobbie scored five goals while teammate Shawn Evans collected nine points en route to the ‘Necks’ second victory in this inconsistent young season. Daryl Veltman pitched in with three goals and two assists, while Rhy Duch led Vancouver with three goals and five points.

“We went for a run this morning and got our guys going,” said Dobbie, who leads the team with 14 goals. “The first half was a battle. We were getting good looks. Wear and tear ... our transition team ran the ball the whole night. We got open looks and they finally started dropping for us.”

The Roughnecks pelted Tyler Richards in the Vancouver goal with 60 shots, while the Stealth took 40 at Mike Poulin.

Both teams had played the previous night and it was somewhat evident early on. The Roughnecks got behind very quickly, down by two by the time the game was less than three minutes old. The second came on a five-on-three for Vancouver, with two Calgary players both in the box ironically for too many men on the floor.

That’s when Jeff Shattler took over, scoring twice within a minute, to even things up. The Riggers had the perfect scenario to break the deadlock when they enjoyed a five-minute powerplay early in the second quarter. They managed to score one with mere seconds left in the penalty, Evans netting his first.

Poulin was having himself an excellent rebound game – he was pulled in the Edmonton game after giving up seven goals on 21 shots – and couldn’t be faulted on the third Vancouver tally, as the dangerous Duch beat him on a partial break. The next one, however, was a bouncer by Jeff Moleski that he would probably have liked to have had back.

“Mike was very steady back there tonight,” noted assistant coach Bruce Codd. “Not spectacular, but just in the right spot.”

Calgary then went on a two-goal run of its own, Veltman and Dobbie putting the home team up once again before half-time.

The third quarter was comprised of runs by both teams, a three-goal skein by Calgary capped by a rare effort by defender Mike Carnegie. That put the ‘Necks up 9-6, but the Stealth notched a pair to get to within one again.

Evans, who is always a force to be reckoned with, took the bull by the horns in the fourth, scoring and deftly passing in a critical part of the game, and helping the Riggers get ahead to stay.

“I thought we battled hard,” said Vancouver head coach Chris Hall. “We did some great things. It was a tight game, which we expected. When they moved ahead, every time we came back; we couldn’t get a break.

“We had some bright lights. We lost, but there were a lot of good things going for us.”

It didn’t help the Stealth cause to lose Moleski, who rolled his ankle, in the first half.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Share

Calgary lacrosse squad squeaks out win at home after walloping in Edmonton

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.